my child is 5 she has problems focusing in class what can i do to help her

Mandi - posted on 04/06/2009

call the doctor and tell him that you think she has adhd my daughter has had it for 6 years now look it up on the net

Jamie - posted on 04/06/2009

Quoting Belinda:

I agree with the other moms that have replies.  You might want to get your daughters vision checked if you have not already done so.  It made a world of difference with my son.  Also, the teacher and I started giving hime a time limit to finish his classwork and homework.  I do not know how well this works with girls, but for my son it worked great. (they start being so competetive at an early age)  Lat but certainly not least, I started giving my son Omega 3 vitamins.  I would check with your daughter's doctor first but it is suppossed to help brain function in children.  His doctor told me that she likes to have a parent try giving their children these vitamins before having to put them on any type of ADD medication and has had prety good results.  I have seen an improvement with my son as well.  Although they are all kind of nasty because they are fish oils, but my son tolerates the Lil Critters Gummy Fish.  :-)

My younger dd (9) is adhd and I'm really hesitant to put her on any meds. We adjusted her diet last yr and started with the vitamins as well. She does the omega 3 and 6 and has a protien shake that she has in the mornings. We also got a lot healthier overall and cut out alot of the processed foods and things made with artificial flavorings and such (which is just about every food item marketed towards a child). It's annoying but worth it. I'm not totally overboard with it, and when I do let her splurge every once in a while, I just make sure it's with me and not on a school day. She has done much better in school this yr, and her teacher even told me at conferences last month that she wouldn't even guess my dd as being adhd if she didn't already know her.

Belinda - posted on 04/03/2009

That has made a difference in him Diane.  I take classes as well and it helps me too!  :-)

Diane - posted on 04/03/2009

martial arts training in the right type of school can help tremendously with children who have focusing issues. Belinda I see your child in a uniform, have you noticed a difference?

Belinda - posted on 04/02/2009

Sorry for all the typos! :-)

Belinda - posted on 04/02/2009

I agree with the other moms that have replies.  You might want to get your daughters vision checked if you have not already done so.  It made a world of difference with my son.  Also, the teacher and I started giving hime a time limit to finish his classwork and homework.  I do not know how well this works with girls, but for my son it worked great. (they start being so competetive at an early age)  Lat but certainly not least, I started giving my son Omega 3 vitamins.  I would check with your daughter's doctor first but it is suppossed to help brain function in children.  His doctor told me that she likes to have a parent try giving their children these vitamins before having to put them on any type of ADD medication and has had prety good results.  I have seen an improvement with my son as well.  Although they are all kind of nasty because they are fish oils, but my son tolerates the Lil Critters Gummy Fish.  :-)

Jenny Gibbs - posted on 03/31/2009

My daughter had this same problem at the begining of Kindergarten. We later found out that she had eye trouble. Since she was born not being able to see correctly out her left eye she never complained thinking it was normal. Once she got glasses she was able to see and then focused much better!! Good luck!!

Mandy - posted on 03/31/2009

my 6year old has the same problems we have to give him protein like eggs or some thing hardy in the morning and send him with a snack of pb or fruit and give him an incentive either after school or at the end of the week we keep in close contact with his teacher and some times you have to get the teacher to take there focues off the bad and put it on the good because the more effort that is put in to the good the better they want to be

Roxanne - posted on 03/31/2009

We are going through this with our 4 yr old. We have spoken with her teachers and they had the same concerns. We had her referred to the speech pathologist at the school and we are finding out what works for her to learn and focus better. We had a "slow start" with her too. She wasn't sleeping well when she was younger and couldn't focus/concentrate. We voiced our concerns with her ped and after some tests found that she had to have her tonsils and adenoids out. She became a new kid, more responsive and focusing, being able to breath and sleep was a huge help. Then we found out that she needed glasses, she is farsighted and can't see the work she's doing. After getting her glasses, she has improved even more!  Make sure you are staying close to the teachers and voicing your concerns to them and the doc.  It could be as simple as these or just getting extra help from the school!

Lacey - posted on 03/30/2009

You should see about having her tested for a Central Auditory Processing Disorder. My daughter has a moderate version but I was also looking for it as my brother has it and my mom and I both show signs of it. Children with (C)APD may display the following behavioural symptoms:

* Difficulty understanding spoken language in competing messages,
* Difficulty understanding spoken language in noisy backgrounds or reverberant environments
* Misunderstanding messages
* Inconsistent or inappropriate responding
* Frequent requests for repetitions
* Taking longer to respond in oral communication situations
* Difficulty paying attention
* Being easily distracted
* Difficulty following complex auditory directions or commands
* Difficulty localizing sound
* Difficulty learning songs or nursery rhymes
* Poor musical and singing skills
* Difficulty with reading and/or spelling
* Difficulty remembering spoken information (i.e., auditory memory deficits)
* Sensitivity to certain noises (e.g., inability to "tune out" a television on in the background while "tuning in" a conversation with a person).

Not all will necessarily apply, my daughter is great with music - it can actually help her keep focus. She has a horrible short term memory though, and was having problems paying attention in class. They sit in groups of 4 desks and she was finding it hard to distinguish and focus on the teacher with the other kids around her making noise. You may also want to have her eyes checked - if she can't see then she will have problems following visual displays.

Angie - posted on 03/30/2009

Quoting Karleen:

my 8 yr old daughter is the same. I started an on/off track sheet for her to take to school everyday. It has things on it that hse has trouble doing like: 1- I will raise my hand without yelling out. 2- i will not talk or run inthe hall. 3- i will not turn around and talk to others during class time. 4- i will not talk in class. then i have 3 boxes for the teacher to fill in- on track- getting bettter- off track. then at the bottom i have a place for teacher to coment for the day. My daughter loves to bring home her track sheet to show me how well she's done for the day. At the end of the week she can earn something special, like pizza for lunch on friday or a small toy, or she can save them up for a nice toy. If she gets a bad report then I take away her TV, computer, playtime. It really does work!

Exactly what I was thinking :) I am glad it works for you, I know that kinda thing worked for me regarding my childrens behavior, at the moment I am thinking of doing one regarding a tv timetable hehe cause my 2 daughters argue non stop on whos watching what downstairs with me. xx

Karleen - posted on 03/30/2009

my 8 yr old daughter is the same. I started an on/off track sheet for her to take to school everyday. It has things on it that hse has trouble doing like: 1- I will raise my hand without yelling out. 2- i will not talk or run inthe hall. 3- i will not turn around and talk to others during class time. 4- i will not talk in class. then i have 3 boxes for the teacher to fill in- on track- getting bettter- off track. then at the bottom i have a place for teacher to coment for the day. My daughter loves to bring home her track sheet to show me how well she's done for the day. At the end of the week she can earn something special, like pizza for lunch on friday or a small toy, or she can save them up for a nice toy. If she gets a bad report then I take away her TV, computer, playtime. It really does work!

Angie - posted on 03/30/2009

Hello I take it you have already had a word with the teacher and the teacher has explained the problems to you, Sometimes children get lazy, sometimes the certain task that they are doing is of no interest to them and so this can be one of many reasons wht your child is very unwilling in tthat certain area, making work fun is the key and giving praise works a treat, perhaps you could make a progress chart that your child can follow and it isnt necassarily bribing your child but you ca suggest a special treat after your child receives a certain amount of stickers on their chart :) this will be both fun and very rewarding for your child. On The otherhand it could be many other things which will need to be ruled out, good luck and hope it sorts itself out soon enougth x

Ruth - posted on 03/30/2009

Hi. Working closely with the teacher is important. It's tough for some kids. TV, videos, music - it's all so fast-paced that when they get to school they have trouble concentrating. Here is a story with advice from a wonderful elementary school teacher that might help you at home:

http://suchasmartmom.com/2009/01/30/grea...

Victoria - posted on 03/29/2009

I have had the same problem with my daughter who is now six, she has been like it ever since she was little! Like Dana has said I have also kept in very close contact with the school and we also work on a praise basis rather than getting annoyed as that only puts the child off.

With Aimée we have also got her eyes tested and it turns out she needed glasses which has also made a difference as she is so chuffed with her glasses that she wants to show everyone how good she can do her work now that she has glasses.

Find out the things that your child likes to do and make it a game to see how long then can do it for and try to make it longer and longer, with rewards!!

Dana - posted on 03/29/2009

I have a 10 year old son who had the same problem. I have learned to make close relationships with all his teachers. I keep in touch through conferences and e-mail... Try making a chart for your daughter and everyday that she does well put a sticker on, place in on the frig or somewhere she can see... give her praise, prasie and more prasie:)